Chapter XLV: Section V (4)

The cultivators of Kiddah adopt a very slovenly expedient for
collecting the fruit. Instead of climbing the tree in the manner
practised by the natives on the Coromandel coast, by help of a hoop
passing round the tree and the body of the climber--and a ligature
so connecting the feet as will enable him to clasp the tree with
them--the Malays cut deep notches or steps in the trunk, in a
zig-zag manner, sufficient to support the toes or the side of the
foot, and thus ascend with the extra, aid only of their arms. This
mode is also a dangerous one, as a false step, when near the top of
a high tree, generally precipitates the climber to the ground. This
notching cannot prove otherwise than injurious to the tree. But the
besetting sin of the planter of coco-nuts, and other productive
trees, is that of crowding. Coco-nut trees, whose roots occupy, when
full grown, circles of forty to fifty feet in diameter, may often be
found planted within eight or ten feet of each other; and in the
native campongs all sorts of indigenous fruit trees are jumbled
together, with so little space to spread in, that they mostly assume
the aspect of forest trees, and yield but sparing crops.

The common kinds of the coco-nut, under very favorable
circumstances, begin to bear at six years of age; but little produce
can be expected until the middle or end of the seventh year. The
yearly produce, one tree with another, may be averaged at 80 nuts
the tree; where the plantation is a flourishing one--assuming the
number of trees, in one hundred orlongs, to be 5,000--the annual
produce will be 400,000 nuts, the minimum local market value of
which will be 4,000 Spanish dollars, and the maximum 8,000 dollars.
From either of these sums 6 per cent. must be deducted for the cost
of collecting, and carriage, &c. The quantity of oil which can be
manufactured from the above number of nuts will be, as nearly as
possible, 834 piculs of 133-1/3 lbs.

The average price of this quantity, at 7 dollars per picul 5,838
Deduct cost of manufacturing, averaged at one-fourth, and
collecting, watching, &c 2,059
-----
Profit, Spanish dollars 3,779

The Chinese, who are the principal manufacturers of the oil, readily
give a picul of it in exchange for 710 ripe nuts, being about 563
piculs of oil out of the total produce of the plantation of 100
orlongs. The price of coco-nut oil has been so high in the London
market as £35 per tun, or about an average of ten dollars per picul.
It is said that English casks have not been found tight enough for
the conveyance of this oil to Europe, but if the article is really
in great demand, a method will no doubt be discovered to obviate
this inconvenience.

So long, however, as the cultivator can obtain a dollar and a half,
or even one dollar for 100 nuts, he will not find it profitable to
make oil, unless its price greatly rises.

Soap is manufactured at Pondicherry from this oil, but it is not
seemingly in repute; the attempt has not been made in Pinang with a
view to a market.

There is scarcely any coir rope manufactured at this island, so that
the profit which might (were labor cheaper) arise from this
application of the coco-nut fibre, is lost. The shell makes good
charcoal; the leaves are scarcely put to any purpose, the nipah or
attap being a superior material for thatching.

The coco-nut tree is extremely apt to be struck by lightning, and in
such cases it is generally destroyed. It is a dangerous tree,
therefore, to have close to a house. If the trees are widely
planted, coffee may be cultivated under their shade. It is generally
believed that the extracting of toddy from this tree hastens its
decline. The Nicobar and Lancavi Islands used partly to supply the
Pinang market with this indispensable article; but their
depopulation has greatly reduced the quantity.

On the whole it may be said that there is no cultivation which
insures the return of produce with so much certainty as that of the
coco-nut tree; and as Rangoon, the Tenasserim coast, and Singapore
will, probably, always remain good markets for the raw nut, there
appears to be every chance of the value of the produce affording
ample remuneration to the planter.

_Coco-nut beetle._--The chief natural enemy of this tree is a destructive species of elephant-beetle (_Oryctes Rhinoceros_), which begins by nibbling the leaves into the shape of a fan; it then perforates the central pithy fibre, so that the leaf snaps off; and lastly, it descends into the folds of the upper shoot, where it bores itself a nest, and if not speedily extracted or killed, will soon destroy the tree. At Singapore, on account of the depredations of this beetle, the difficulties have been considerable.

In Pinang and Province Wellesley it has only been observed within the last two years, and it is believed to have come from Keddah. A similar kind of beetle is, however, found on the Coromandel coast. The natives of Keddah say that this insect appears at intervals of two, three, or more years.

Its larvæ, which are also very formidable insects or grubs, about three inches long, with large reddish heads, are found in decaying vegetable matter. It is when the tree has made considerable progress, however, that the parent insect does most mischief. When they are from one to two years old, throwing out their graceful branches in quick succession with the greatest vigor, and promising in three or four years more to yield their ruddy fruit, this destructive enemy begins to exercise his boring propensities; and, making his horn act as an auger, he soon penetrates the soft and yielding fibre of the young tree, and if not discovered in time, destroys the leading shoot or branch. The only remedy which has been adopted in Ceylon, is the following:--Several intelligent boys are provided each with an iron needle or probe, of about a foot long, with a sharp double barbed point, like a fish-hook, and a ring handle; they go through the plantation looking narrowly about the trees, and when they perceive the hole in the trunk, which indicates that the enemy is at work, they thrust in the barbed instrument and pull him out. Sometimes he may only have just commenced, when his capture is more easily effected, but even should he have penetrated to the very heart of the tree, the deadly needle does not fail in its errand, but brings the culprit out, impaled and writhing on its point. This is the only known way of checking the ravages of this beetle, except destroying its larvæ. Some cultivators, however, think pouring salt water or brine on the top of the tree, so as to descend among the folds of the upper shoots, a good plan to get rid of the larvæ.

Nearly two million coco-nuts are shipped annually from Bahia.

From Ceylon, 114,600 coco-nuts were shipped in 1851, and 70,185 in 1852.

Coco-nut oil; 98,159 gallons were shipped from Ceylon in 1852; 359,233 gallons in 1851.

The prices of Ceylon oil have ranged from £31 to £33 10s. per tun; of Cochin oil, £34 to £35, within the last two years. The price per leaguer in Colombo, without casks, has been £8 10s. to £9.

_Copperah_ is the name, given by the natives to the kernel of the ripe nut after it has been exposed to the sun on mats, until it has become rancid and dissolved. It has recently been shipped to England in this state for the purpose of converting into oil. The exports of copperah from Ceylon were, in 1842, 115 cwts.; in 1843, 2,194; in 1844, 2,397; and in 1852, 39,174 cwts.

The returned value of the copperah or kernels exported from Ceylon, as entered in the Custom House books, is--

1840 2,508
1841 1,460
1842 3,022
1843 5,795
1844 6,194
1845 3,282
1846 5,517
1847 6,503
1848 12,639
1849 7,819
1850 4,166
1851 9,678
1852 13,325

632 cwts. of poonac (being the refuse or cake, after expressing the oil) were exported from Ceylon in 1842. It is worth there about £10 the ton.

The oil from the nut is obtained for culinary purposes by boiling the fresh pulp, and skimming it as it rises. That for exportation is usually obtained by pressing the copperah in a simple press turned by bullocks. Recently, however, steam power has been applied in Colombo, with great advantage. About 2½ gallons of oil per 100 nuts, are usually obtained. It is requisite that care should be taken not to apply too great and sudden a pressure at once, but by degrees an increasing force, so as not to choke the conducting channels of the oil in the press.

In many of the colonies the oil is expressed by the slow and laborious hand process of grating the pulp.

The quantity shipped from Ceylon was 2,250 tuns, in 1842; 3,985 in 1843; 2,331 in 1844; 1,797 in 1845. The quantity in gallons shipped since, was 101,553 in 1846; 197,850 in 1847; 300,146 in 1848; 867,326 in 1849; 407,960 in 1850; 442,700 in 1851; and 749,028 in 1852.

The duty on importation is of and from British possessions, 7d. and 7/8ths. per cwt.; if the produce of foreign possessions, 1s. 3¾ d, per cwt. In the close of 1852, the price of coco-nut oil in the London market was, for Ceylon, £32, £33, to £33 10s. per ton; Cochin, middling to fine, £34 to £35.

The following return shows the Custom House valuation of the oil shipped from Ceylon for a series of years, and which is of course much below its real value:--

1839 £26,597
1840 32,483
1841 24,052
1842 34,242
1843 43,874
1844 24,067
1845 15,945
1846 7,939
1847 19,142
1848 24,839
1849 34,831
1850 35,035
1851 31,444
1852 58,045

Among the coco-nut oil exported from Ceylon, in 1849, there were 47,427½ gallons, valued at £3,595, the whole of which, I believe, was Cochin oil; the raw material of this kind not being, like the copperah generally in Ceylon, subjected to the action of fire, the product is finer, and fetches a better price in the London market.

Amongst the imports from British possessions in Asia, were 2,600 cwts., of copperah (dried coco-nut kernels, from which oil is expressed), valued at £1,100; amongst the imports re-exported to Great Britain, we find 870 cwts. of the same article, valued at £300. Of the oil exported a quantity of 11,000 gallons was shipped for the United States. About 600,000 piculs of coco-nut oil are annually exported from Siam.

A large quantity of oil is made in Trinidad, chiefly on the east coast, where, in one locality, there is an uninterrupted belt of coco-nut palms fourteen miles in extent. They usually bear when five years old.

The cultivation of the coco-nut in a proper soil presents a very profitable speculation for small capitalists. Whether sold at the rate of a dollar per hundred in their natural state, to captains of ships, who freely purchase them, or manufactured into oil, they are a very remunerative product. Each tree in the West Indies is calculated to produce nuts to the value of one dollar yearly. There is one thing to which we would draw the attention of chemists and other scientific men.

For twenty-four or even forty-eight hours after its manufacture this oil is as free from any unpleasant taste as olive oil, and can be used in lieu of it for all culinary purposes, but after that time it acquires such a rancid taste as to be wholly unpalateable. If any means could be discovered of preventing this deterioration in quality, and preserving it fresh and sweet, it could compete with olive oil, and the price and consumption would be largely raised.

COCO-NUT OIL IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM.

Imports. Retained for home consumption.
cwts. cwts.
1835 19,838 14,015
1836 26,058 26,062
1837 41,218 28,641
1838 -- 38,669
1839 -- 15,153
1840 -- 37,269
1841 -- 26,528
1842 -- 26,225
1843 -- 29,928
1844 -- 42,480
1848 85,453 54,783
1849 64,451 14,622
1850 98,040 46,494
1851 55,995 2,333
1852 101,863 27,112

A London coco-nut oil soap was found, on analysis by Dr. Ure, to consist of:--

Soda 4.5
Coco-nut lard 22.0
Water 73.5
-----
100.0

This remarkable soap was sufficiently solid; but it dissolved in hot water with extreme facility. It is called marine soap, because it washes linen with sea water.

Of the six principal vegetable oils, namely--palm, coco-nut castor, olive, linseed, and rape, the first four are imported in the state of oil only; the two last chiefly as seed. The proportion in which they were imported is shown in the following tables; and if to these quantities are added about a million and a half cwt. of tallow, and nearly twenty thousand tuns of whale oil and spermaceti, they will nearly represent the total quantity of oil imported into Great Britain.

IMPORTS IN 1846.
Palm oil. Olive oil. Castor oil.
cwts. tuns. cwts.
Western Africa 475,364 1 --
United States 13,349 -- 290
Naples and Sicily 14 9,661 --
East Indies -- -- 6,315
Canary Islands 3,719 -- --
Malta -- 2,237 --
Turkish Empire -- 1,712 --
Tuscany -- 832 --
Spain -- 753 --
Brazil 525 -- --
Ionian Islands -- 506 --
Morocco -- 368 --
Madeira 353 -- --
Sardinia -- 333 11
Miscellaneous 7 471 65
------- ------- -------
Total 493,331 16,864 9,681

IMPORTS IN 1850
Linseed. Rape seed.
quarters. quarters.
Russia 482,813 3,235
Sweden 870 --
Norway 268 --
Denmark 37 3,092
Russia 87,273 645
Hanse Towns 1,153 2,872
Holland 7,734 201
Naples 1,476 --
Austrian Territories 40 2,580
Greece -- 1,637
Wallachia and Moldavia 910 1,280
Egypt 17,517 --
East Indian Empire 26,142 13,126
Miscellaneous 262 922
-------- ------
Total 626,495 29,495

OIL-CAKE.--It has been observed by Evelyn that one bushel of walnuts will yield fifteen pounds of peeled kernels, and these will produce half that weight of oil, which the sooner it is drawn is the more in quantity, though the drier the nut the better its quality. The cake or marc of the pressing is excellent for fattening hogs and for manure.

Oats contain, as a maximum, about seven per cent. of oil, and Indian corn nine per cent. The cake of the gold of pleasure contains twelve per cent. Indeed the most valuable oil-cakes are those of the _Camelina sativa_, poppies and walnuts, which are nearly equal; next to these are the cakes of hemp, cotton, and beech-mast. In France the extraction and purification of oil from the cotton seed is a recent branch of labor, the refuse of which is likely to prove useful in agriculture; its value as a manure being nearly ten times greater than that of common dung. Oil is obtained from maize or Indian corn in the process of making whiskey. It rises in the mash tubs and is found in the scum at the surface, being separated either by the fermentation or the action of heat. It is then skimmed off, and put away in a cask to deposit its impurities; after which it is drawn off in a pure state, fit for immediate use. The oil is limpid, has a slight tinge of the yellow color of the corn, and is inoffensive to the taste and smell. It is not a drying oil, and therefore cannot be used for paint, but burns freely in lamps and is useful for oiling machinery.

Among the various seeds used in the manufacture of oil-cake, flour of linseed is the most important. Rape seed is also employed, but is considered heating. In Lubeck, a marc, called dodder cake, is made from the _Camelina sativa_. Inferior oil-cake is made from the poppy in India. Cotton-seed cake has lately been recommended on account of its cheapness, being usually thrown away as refuse by the cotton manufacturers. It is extensively used as a cattle food, in an unprepared state, in various parts of the tropical world, and to a limited extent in this country.

The cost of seed, freight included, was 2d. per lb. from Charlestown to Port Glasgow. Cotton oil-cake is now ordered at the same price as linseed cake. The produce of oil-cake and oil from cotton seed, is two gallons of oil to one cwt. of seed, leaving about 96 lbs of cake; 8 lbs. is the daily allowance for cattle in England.

Cotton seed oil, very pure, is manufactured to a considerable extent at Marseilles, by De Gimezney, from Egyptian seed; and he received a prize medal at the Great Exhibition.

Account of the export of linseed and rapeseed cakes from Stettin, principally to England, in--

cwts.
1834 33,518
1835 27,038
1836 56,581
1837 70,643
1838 119,540
1839 115,416
1840 162,457
1841 143,816
1842 119,814

The quantity of oil-seed cakes imported into the United Kingdom was in--

tons.
1849 59,462
1850 65,055
1851 55,076
1852 53,616

Cargoes of oil-cake, to the value of £22,207, were exported from the port of Shanghae, in China, in 1849.

2,467 tons of oil-cake were brought down to New Orleans from the interior in 1848, and 1,032 tons in 1849.

Seven samples of American oil-cake gave the following results:--

Oil 11.41
Water 7.60
Nitrogen 4.74
Ash 6.35

From the above figures, the scientific farmer will see that the manure formed by 100 lbs. of oil-cake is more than that derived from 300 lbs. of Indian corn. 300 lbs. of corn contain about l¼ lbs. phosphoric acid; 100 lbs. oil-cake contain about 2½ lbs.

VOLATILE OR ESSENTIAL OILS occur in the stems, leaves, flowers and fruit of many odoriferous plants, and are procured by distillation along with water. They are called "essences," and contain the concentrated odor of the plant. They usually exist ready-formed, but occasionally they are obtained by a kind of fermentation, as oil of bitter almonds and oil of mustard. Some of them consist of carbon and hydrogen only, as oil of turpentine, from _Juniperus communis;_ oil of savin, from _Juniperus Sabina;_ oil of lemons and oranges, from the rind of the fruit; and oil of nerole, from orange flowers. A second set contain oxygen in addition, as oil of cinnamon, from _Cinnamonum verum;_ otto or attar of roses, from various species of rose, especially _Rosa centifolia;_ oil of cloves, from _Caryophyllus aromaticus_.

Those principally obtained from tropical shrubs and plants are citronella, oil of oranges and lemons, from the rind of the fruit oil of cinnamon and cloves, croton oil, &c.

The oil of Sandal or Sanders wood _(Santalum album_), grown on the Malabar coast, is much esteemed as a perfume. Keora oil, from _Pandanus odoratissimus_, in Bengal. Oil of spikenard, so highly prized, on account of its perfume, by the ancients, may be procured in Sagur, Nepaul, and the mountains of the Himalaya.

956 lbs. of essential oils were imported into Hull in 1850. There were exported from Ceylon in 1842, 902 cases; in 1843, 138; in 1844, 20; in 1845, 25 cases of essential oils, and in the last two years as follows:--

1852. 1851.
cases. cases.
Cinnamon oil 17 23
Citronella oil 110 87
Essential oil 72 35

Of chemical, essential, and perfumed oils imported from France, the quantity is about 35,000 lbs. annually, worth £10,000. The duty is 1s. per lb. We also imported from France, in 1851, 9,596 cwt. of oil or spirit of turpentine, worth £14,197, on which a duty of 5s. 3d. per cwt. is levied.

From Western Australia some distilled oil of the Liptospermum was shown at the Exhibition, which it is stated may be obtained in any quantity, and a similar oil produced, by distillation, from the _Eucalyptus piperita_, a powerful solvent of caoutchouc, evidently very similar, if not altogether identical, with the oil of cajeput. The characters of these two oils are much alike and without some care it is difficult to distinguish them from one another by the odor; the liptospermum oil has a slight tinge of yellow, its specific gravity is 0.9035; the eucalyptus oil is colorless, and has a density of 0.9145. It is probable that these oils might be used with great advantage in the manufacture of varnish, they readily dissolve copal, and when its solution is spread over any surface the oil soon evaporates, and leaves a hard, brilliant and uniform coating of the resin. These oils, according to Prof. Solly, are specially worthy of attention.

Dr. Bennett, in his "Wanderings in New South Wales," states that a large quantity of camphorated oil, which closely resembles the cajeputi, is produced from the foliage of several species of _Eucalyptus_. Some of the leaves, which are of a bluish green, contain it in such abundance as to cover the hand with oil when one of the leaves is gently rubbed against it.

From the odorous leaves of the _Arbor alba_ is extracted a portion of the aromatic cajeput oil. This celebrated medicinal oil is principally made in the island of Borneo, one of the Moluccas.

The leaf of the _Melaleuca minor_ yields, by distillation, the volatile oil of cajeputi, well known as a powerful sudorific, and a useful external application in chronic rheumatism. It is an evergreen shrub, with white flowers like a myrtle, native of the East Indies, principally flourishing on the sea coasts of the Moluccas and other Indian islands. Two sacks full of the leaves yield scarcely three drachms of the oil, which is limpid, pellucid, and of a green color.

Oil of cinnamon and oil of cassia, according to Mulder, have the same composition. When fresh they are pale yellow, but become brown on exposure to the air. On exposure they rapidly absorb cinnamic acid, two resins and water.

More than 22,000 lbs. of essence of bergamot was imported in 1848. It is obtained by distillation or pressure from the rind of the fragrant citron.

_Andropogon calamus aromaticus_, of Royle, _A. nardoides_, of Nees v. Esenb., according to some yields the grass oil of Namur.

The fruits of _Carum carui_, a hardy biennial British plant, popularly known as caraway seeds, supply a volatile oil, which is carminitive and aromatic. Oils of a similar kind are obtained from _Coriandrum sativum_, from anise (_Pimpinella Anisum_), and cumin (_Cuminum Cyminum_), a native of Egypt.

The production of cinnamon, clove, and cassia oils, have already been noticed in speaking of those spices.

In Malabar, a greenish sweet-smelling oil is obtained, by distillation, from the roots of _Unona Narum_, an evergreen climber, which is used medicinally as a Stimulant.

OIL OF PEPPERMINT.--Mr. De Witt C. Van Slyck, of Alloway, Wayne county, New York, furnished me with the following particulars on the cultivation of peppermint, in December, 1849, which may appropriately be introduced in this place:--

"As an agricultural production, the culture of peppermint in the
United States is limited to few localities; this county and the
adjoining ones, Seneca and Ontario, comprise the largest bed. In the
year 1846 about 40,000 lbs. of oil were produced. In Lewis county,
in this state, it is grown, though to a less extent; the amount of
oil produced there in 1846 was estimated at 4,500 lbs. In Michigan
about 10,000 lbs. are annually produced; Ohio furnishes about 3,000
lbs. and Indiana 700 lbs. per annum. The entire crop in the United
States, in the year 1846, is estimated in round numbers at 58,000
lbs.

The above comprises all the localities of any importance in the
United States, and the above estimates of the annual product of oil
were made from correct data for the year 1846, since which time the
cultivation of mint has rapidly decreased in consequence of a
speculative movement by a New York company, who in the spring of
1847 purchased nearly all the mint then growing in this State, and
stipulated with the growers not to raise it for two years
thereafter, which condition was generally observed on the part of
the growers. The present year (1849), on account of the drought, has
not realised the expectations of those engaged in its culture,
although the amount of oil produced is much larger than the product
of the two preceding years. In this mint district, 8,000 lbs. have
been raised; Lewis county furnishes 1,000 lbs.; Michigan, 8.000
lbs.; Ohio, 1,000 lbs., and Indiana 500 lbs. So that the entire crop
of 1849 will not materially vary from 18,500 lbs.

I have consulted several of the principal dealers in mint oil, whose
opportunities have been ample to form a tolerably correct estimate
of the amount of oil annually consumed, and their opinion fixes the
total consumption, for the various purposes for which it is used in
the United States and in Europe, at from 20,000 to 30,000 lbs.
annually.

The price of mint oil is extremely fluctuating. Like other unstaple
commodities, the value of which depends upon their scarcity or
abundance, it never has assumed a constant and standing value, but
its price has generally been deranged by speculation and monopoly.
It has happened that the amount of oil produced was for several
years greater than the annual consumption, producing an accumulation
in the market, and reducing the price to the very low rate of 75
cents per pound; on the other hand, when the article was scarce, it
readily sold for 5 dollars 25 cents per pound. The average price for
fifteen vears has been about 2 dollars 50 cents, per pound. This
year (1849) it readily sells for 1 dollar 50 cents., (6s. 6d.).

Peppermint began to be cultivated in this vicinity as an
agricultural product about the year 1816, but for several years the
want of a proper knowledge of its culture, and the expense and
difficulty of extracting the oil, prevented its extension beyond a
few growers, who, however, realised fortunes out of the enterprise.
Almost any kind of soil that will successfully rear wheat and maize
is adapted to the growth of mint. Rich alluvions, however, seem to
be most natural, as would be inferred from the fact that the wild
herb is almost uniformly found growing upon the tertiary formations
on the margins of streams. The rich bottom lands along our rivers
and the boundless prairies of the West are eminently adapted for its
successful culture. It is believed by those best acquainted with the
subject, that its cultivation must be ultimately confined to the
western prairies, where it will grow spontaneously, and where the
absence of noxious weeds and grasses, incident to all older settled
lands, renders the expense of cultivation comparatively light, and
where the low price of land will be an important item in the amount
of capital employed, the expense of marketing being slight in
comparison to that of the more bulky products of agricultural
industry.

The method of cultivation is nearly uniform. The mode of propagation
is by transplanting the roots, which may be done in autumn or
spring, though generally the latter, and as the herb is perennial,
it does not require replanting till the fourth year. To ensure a
good crop and obviate the necessity of extra attendance the first
season, the ground intended for planting should be fallowed the
preceding summer, though this is not necessary if the land is
ordinarily clean. The ground should be prepared as for maize, as
soon as possible in the spring furrowed, and roots planted in drills
twenty inches apart, and covered with loose earth, two inches deep,
the planter walking upon the drill and treading it firmly. The
proper time to procure roots is when the herb is a year old, when
from six to eight square rods of ordinary mint will yield a
sufficient quantity of roots to plant an acre, and the crop from
which the roots are taken will not be deteriorated, but rather
benefited by their extraction. As soon as the herb makes its
appearance it requires a light dressing with a hoe, care being taken
not to disturb the young shoots, many of which have scarcely made
their appearance above the ground. In the course of a week or two
the crop requires a more thorough dressing, and at this stage of
growth the cultivator may be used with advantage, followed by the
hoe, carefully eradicating weeds and grass from the drills, and
giving the herb a light dressing of earth. Another dressing a week
or two later is all the crop requires.

The two following years no labor is bestowed upon the crop, though
it is sometimes benefited by ploughing over the whole surface, very
shallow, in the autumn of the second year, and harrowing lightly the
following spring, which frequently renews the vigor of the plant and
increases the product.

The mint should be cut as soon as it is in full bloom, and the lower
leaves become sere; the first crop will not be fit to cut as early
as the two succeeding ones. It is then to be hayed and put in cock,
and is then ready for distillation.

I have consulted many mint growers, who have cultivated it for a
series of years, in regard to the average yield per acre, and have
arrived at the following estimate, which I think is low, provided
the land is suitable, and is properly cultivated. I estimate the
average yield per acre for the first year at 18 lbs.; the second
year at 14 lbs.; and the third year at 8 lbs.--making the product
for three years 40 lbs., which I think will not materially vary from
the actual result, though growers aver they have raised from 30 to
40 lbs. per acre the first season.

Several years since, the only method of extracting the oil then
known was by distilling the herb in a copper kettle, or boiler, and
condensing in the usual manner; a slow and tedious process, by which
about 12 or 15 pounds of oil could be separated in a day. But
recently steam, that powerful agent, which has wrought such immense
changes in our social and national economy, has been applied to this
subject with its usual attendant success. The present method
consists in the use of a common steam-boiler, of the capacity of
from 100 to 150 gallons, from which the steam is conveyed by
conductors into large wooden air-tight tubs, of 200 gallons
capacity, containing the dried herb; from which it is conveyed,
charged with the volatile principle of the plant, into a water-vat,
containing the condenser. The water collected at the extremity of
the condenser, although it does not readily commingle with the oil,
is highly tinctured with it, and is used to feed the boiler. Two
tubs are necessary, in order that when the "charge" is being worked
off in one, the other can be refilled. The oil is then to be
filtered, and is ready for market. The expense of a distillery is
estimated at 150 dollars, which, with the labor of two men, and a
cord of dry wood, will run 40 lbs. of oil per day. The usual price
for distilling is 25 cents per pound.

The cost of production is of course greatly modified by
circumstances. If grown on rich bottom lands, or prairie, unusually
free from weeds and grass, the labor required will be comparatively
trifling. From information derived from the principal mint growers
in this vicinity, I have prepared the following estimate of the cost
of production of an acre of mint for three years:--

FIRST YEAR.
Dollars.
Rent of an acre of land one year 8.00
One day plough and drag, one hand and team 2.00
Half day furrowing, digging roots, one hand and horse 1.00
Three days planting, at 75 cents 2.25
Two days dressing with hoe, at 75 cents 1.50
Two days with cultivator and hoe, 1.00 2.00
Two days with cultivator and hoe (third dressing) 1.50
One and a-half days cutting new mint, at 75 cents 1.13
Curing and drawing to distillery 1.50
Distilling 18 lbs. oil, at 25 cents 4.50
Can for oil 25
-----
25.63

SECOND YEAR.
Rent of an acre of land one year 8.00
Cutting one acre of old mint 75
Curing and hauling to distillery 1.50
Distilling 14 lbs. oil, at 25 cents 3.50
Can for oil 25
-----
14.00

THIRD YEAR.
Rent of an acre of land one year 8.00
Cutting, curing, &c. 2.25
Distilling 8 lbs. of oil, at 25 cents, and can 2.25
-----
12.50
-----
Total expenses for three years 52.13

Forty pounds of oil, at dollars 1.37½ per pound 55.00
Deduct expenses 52.13
-----
Net profit 2.87

In the above estimate I have omitted the expense of roots, for the
reason that the crop will yield as many as are required for
planting. The price of roots is about 50 cents per square rod, and
if they are in demand, the profit of the crop will be greatly
enhanced by selling them at that, or even a lower price.

It will be readily perceived that the culture of peppermint promises
no great return of profit in sections of country where land is
valuable, and where the expense of production is nearly double what
it is in newly-settled districts. It is a fact that in Michigan, and
other Western States, the actual expense of production is about
one-half less than the above estimate, and the yield is a fourth
greater; the greater distance from market, which is usually New York
city, not being taken into account, the freight on oil being
comparatively trifling. Another consideration in favor of prairie
cultivation is, that the mint will endure for years by simply
ploughing over the surface every second year, which seems to
invigorate the herb, and obviates the necessity of replanting every
second or third year, as must be done in older settled localities."

In India the perfumed oils are obtained in the following manner:--The layers of the jasmine, or other flowers, four inches thick and two inches square, are laid on the ground and covered with layers of sesamum or any other oil yielding seed. These are laid about the same thickness as the flowers, over which a second layer of flowers like the fruit is placed. The seed is wetted with water, and the whole mass covered with a sheet, held down at the end and sides by weights, and allowed to remain for eighteen hours in this form. It is now fit for the mill, unless the perfume is desired to be very strong, when the faded flowers are removed and fresh ones put in their place. The seed thus impregnated is ground in the usual way in the mill and the oil expressed, having the scent of the flower. At Ghazipoor the jasmine and bela are chiefly employed; the oil is kept in the dubbers, and sold for about 4s. a seer.

The newest oils afford the finest perfume. In Europe a fixed oil, usually that of the bean or morerja nut, is employed. Cotton is soaked in this, and laid over layers of flowers, the oil being squeezed out so soon as impregnated with perfume. Dr. Johnson thus describes the culture and manufacture:--

_Cultivation of Roses_.--Around the station of Ghazipoor, there are
about 300 biggahs (or about 150 acres) of ground laid out in small
detached fields as rose gardens, most carefully protected on all
sides by high mud walls and prickly pear fences, to keep out the
cattle. These lands, which belong to Zemindars, are planted with
rose trees, and are annually let out at so much per biggah for the
ground, and so much additional for the rose plants--generally five
rupees per biggah, and twenty-five rupees for the rose trees, of
which there are 1,000 in each biggah. The additional expense for
cultivation would be about eight rupees eight annas; so that for
thirty-eight rupees eight annas you have for the season one biggah
of 1,000 rose trees.

If the season is good, this biggah of 1,000 rose trees should yield
one lac of roses. Purchases for roses are always made at so much per
lac. The price of course varies according to the year, and will
average from 40 to 70 rupees.

_Manufacture of Rose-water_.--The rose trees come into flower at the
beginning of March, and continue so through April. Early in the
morning the flowers are plucked by numbers of men, women, and
children, and are conveyed in large bags to the several contracting
parties for distillation. The cultivators themselves very rarely
manufacture.

The native apparatus for distilling the rose-water is of the
simplest construction; it consists of a large copper or iron boiler
well tinned, capable of holding from eight to twelve gallons, having
a large body with a rather narrow neck, and a mouth about eight
inches in diameter; on the top of this is fixed an old dekchee, or
cooking vessel, with a hole in the centre to receive the tube or
worm.

This tube is composed of two pieces of bamboo, fastened at an acute
angle, and it is covered the whole length with a strong binding of
corded string, over which is a luting of earth to prevent the vapour
from escaping. The small end, about two feet long, is fixed into the
hole in the centre of the head, where it is well luted with flower
and water. The lower arm or end of the tube is carried down into a
long-necked vessel or receiver, called a bhulka. This is placed in a
handee of water, which, as it gets hot, is changed. The head of the
still is luted on to the body, and the long arm of the tube in the
bhulka is also well provided with a cushion of cloth, so as to keep
in all vapour. The boiler is let into an earthen furnace, and the
whole is ready for operation. There is such a variety of rose-water
manufactured in the bazar, and so much that bears the name, which is
nothing more than a mixture of sandal oil, that it is impossible to
lay down the plan which is adopted. The best rose-water, however, in
the bazar, may be computed as bearing the proportion of one thousand
roses to a seer of water; this, perhaps, may be considered as the
best procurable.

From one thousand roses most generally a seer and a half of
rose-water is distilled, and perhaps from this even the attar has
been removed. The boiler of the still will hold from eight to twelve
or sixteen thousand roses. On eight thousand roses from ten to
eleven seers of water will be placed, and eight seers of rose-water
will be distilled. This after distillation is placed in a carboy of
glass, and is exposed to the sun for several days to become pucka
(ripe); it is then stopped with cotton, and has a covering of moist
clay put over it; this becoming hard, effectually prevents the scent
from escaping. The price of this will be from twelve to sixteen
rupees. This is the best that can be procured.

_Attar of Roses_.--To procure the attar, the roses are put into the
still, and the water passes over gradually, as in the case of the
rose-water process; after the whole has come over, the rose-water is
placed in a large metal basin, which is covered with wetted muslin,
tied over to prevent insects or dust getting into it; this vessel is
let into the ground about two feet, which has been previously wetted
with water, and it is allowed to remain quiet during the whole
night. The attar is always made at the beginning of the season, when
the nights are cool; in the morning the little film of attar which
is formed upon the surface of the rose-water during the night is
removed by means of a feather, and it is then carefully placed in a
small phial; and, day after day, as the collection is made, it is
placed for a short period in the sun, and after a sufficient
quantity has been procured, it is poured off clear, and of the color
of amber, into small phials. Pure attar, when it has been removed
only three or four days, has a pale greenish hue; by keeping it
loses this, and in a few weeks' time it becomes of a pale yellow.
The first few days distillation does not produce such fine attar as
comes off afterwards, in consequence of the dust or little particles
of dirt in the still and the tube being mixed with it. This is
readily separated, from its sinking to the bottom of the attar,
which melts at a temperature of 84 degrees. From one lac of roses it
is generally calculated that 180 grains, or one tolah, of attar can
be procured; more than this can be obtained if the roses are
full-sized, and the nights cold to allow of the congelation. The
attar purchased in the bazar is generally adulterated, mixed with
sandal oil, or sweet oil; not even the richest native will give the
price at which the purest attar alone can be obtained, and the
purest attar that is made is sold only to Europeans. During the past
year it has been selling from 80 to 90 rupees the tolah; the year
before it might have been purchased for 50 rupees.

_General Remarks_.--Native stills are let out at so much per day or
week, and it frequently occurs that the residents prepare some
rose-water for their own use as a present to their friends, to
secure their being provided with that which is the best. The natives
never remove the calices of the rose-flowers, but place the whole
into the still as it comes from the garden.

The best plan appears to be to have these removed, as by this means
the rose-water may be preserved a longer time, and is not spoiled by
the acid smell occasionally met with in the native rose-water. It is
usual to calculate 100 bottles to one lac of roses. The rose-water
should always be twice distilled; over ten thousand roses water may
be put to allow of sixteen or twenty bottles coming out; the
following day these twenty bottles are placed over eight thousand
more roses, and about eighteen bottles of rose-water are distilled.
This may be considered the best to be met with. The attar is so much
lighter than the rose-water, that, previous to use, it is better to
expose the rose-water to the sun for a few days, to allow of its
being well mixed; and rose-water that has been kept six months is
always better than that which has recently been made.

At the commencement of the rose season, people from all parts come
to make their purchases, and very large quantities are prepared and
sold. There are about thirty-six places in the city of Ghazeepore
where rose-water is distilled. These people generally put a large
quantity of sandal oil into the receiver, the oil is afterwards
carefully removed and sold as sandal attar, and the water put into
carboys and disposed of as rose-water. At the time of sale a few
drops of sandal oil are placed on the neck of the carboy to give it
fresh scent, and to many of the natives it appears perfectly
immaterial whether the scent arises solely from the sandal oil or
from the roses. Large quantities of sandal oil are every year
brought up from the south and expended in this way.

6. The chief use the natives appear to make of the rose water, or
the sandal attar as they term it, is at the period of their
festivals and weddings. It is then distributed largely to the guests
as they arrive, and sprinkled with profusion in the apartments. A
large quantity of rose water is sold at Benares, and many of the
native Rajahs send over to Ghazipoor for its purchase. Most of the
rose water, as soon as distilled, is taken away, and after six
months from the termination of the manufacture there are not more
than four or five places where it is to be met with.

I should consider that the value of the roses sold for the
manufacture of rose water may be estimated at 15,000 to 20,000
rupees a year; and from the usual price asked for the rose water,
and for which it is sold, I should consider there is a profit of
40,000 rupees. The natives are very fond of using the rose water as
medicine, or as a vehicle for other mixtures, and they consume a
good deal of the petals for the conserve of roses, or goolcond as
they call it.

The roses of Ghazipoor, on the river Ganges, are cultivated in
enormous fields of hundreds of acres. The delightful odor from these
fields can be scented at seven miles distance on the river. The
valuable article of commerce known as attar of roses is made here in
the following manner:--On 40 pounds of roses are poured 60 pounds of
water, and they are then distilled over a slow fire, and 30 pounds
of rose water obtained. This rose water is then poured over 40
pounds of fresh roses, and from that is distilled at most 20 pounds
of rose water; this is then exposed to the cold night air, and in
the morning a small quantity of oil is found on the surface. From 80
pounds of roses, about 200,000, at the utmost an ounce and a-half of
oil is obtained; and even at Ghazipoor it costs 40 rupees (4_l._) an
ounce.

Five guineas have been often paid for one ounce of attar of roses.
The most approved mode of ascertaining its quality is to drop it on
a piece of paper; its strength is ascertained by the quickness with
which it evaporates, and its worth by its leaving no stains on the
paper. The best otto is manufactured at Constantinople.

A volatile oil, erroneously called oil of spikenard, is met with in the shops, which is obtained from a plant which has been named by Dr. Royle, the _Andropogon Calamus aromaticus._

The true spikenard of the ancients is supposed to have been obtained from the _Nardostachys Jatamansi_, a plant of the Valerian family. Dr. Stenhouse describes rather minutely ("Journal Pharm. Soc." vol. iv. p. 276) a species of East India grass oil, said to be the produce of _Andropogon Ivaracusa_, which he believes to be what is usually called the oil of Namur. It has a very fragrant aromatic odor, slightly resembling that of otto of roses, but not nearly so rich. Its taste is sharp and agreeable, approaching that of oil of lemons. It has a deep yellow color, and contains a good deal of resinous matter.

LEMON GRASS (_Andropogon schoenanthus_).--This fragrant grass, which is now cultivated very generally throughout the West Indies, in the gardens of the planters, as an elegant and powerful diaphoratic, was doubtless introduced from the East. The active principle of the leaves seems to reside in the essential oil which they contain. Lemon grass oil forms an important article of export from Ceylon, amounting in value to nearly £7,000 annually.

The _Andropogon schoenanthus_, which may be seen covering all the Kandian hills, is the best possible pasture for cattle--at least as long as it is young. This species of grass is very hard, and grows to the height of seven feet, and sometimes higher, and has a strong but extremely pleasant acid taste. It derives its name from having, when crushed, an odor like that of the lemon, so strong, that after a time it becomes quite heavy and sickening, although grateful and refreshing at first. It covers the hills in patches--those, at least, that are not overgrown with jungle and underwood--and it is to be found nowhere but in the Kandian district. Spontaneous ignition frequently takes place, and the appearance of the burning grass is described as most magnificent. A few days after, from the midst of this parched, blackened, and apparently dead ground, lovely young green shoots begin to arise--for the roots of this extraordinary grass have not even been injured, far less destroyed, by the fire; and in a very short time the whole brow of the mountain is again overspread with tufts of beautiful green waving grass.--("Journal of Agriculture.")

Otto of khuskhus or scented grass, from another species, _A. digitalis_, obtained at Ulwar in the States of Rajpootanah, was shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851, and Newar oil (from _A. maritima_) from Agra.

CITRONELLA OIL.--In the Southern province of Ceylon some half dozen estates about Galle are cultivated with citronella grass. The exports of this oil from Ceylon in the last three years have been as follows:--1850, 86,048 oz., valued at £3,344; 1851, 114,959 oz., valued at £3,742; in 1852, 131,780 oz., valued at £2,806.

PATCHOULY.--Under this name are imported into this country the dried foliaceous tops of a strongly odoriferous labiate plant, growing three feet high in India and China, called in Bengalee and Hindu, _pucha pat_. About 46 cases, of from 50 to 110 lbs. each, were imported from China, by the way of New York, in 1844. The price asked was 6s. per pound. Very little is known of the plant yielding it. Mr. George Porter, late of the island of Pinang, stated that it grows wild there and on the opposite shores of the Malay peninsula. Dr. Wallich says, that it obviously belongs to the family Labiatæ. Viney, in the "French Journal of Pharmacy," suggests that it is the _Plectranthus graveolens_ of R. Brown. It forms a shrub of two or three feet in height. It is the _Pogostemon patchouly_. The odor of the dried plant is strong and peculiar, and to some persons not agreeable. The dried tops imported into England are a foot or more in length. In India it is used as an ingredient in tobacco for smoking, and for scenting the hair of women. In Europe it is principally used for perfumery purposes, it being a favorite with the French, who import it largely from Bourbon. The Arabs use and export it more than any other nation. Their annual pilgrimship takes up an immense quantity of the leaf. They use it principally for stuffing mattrasses and pillows, and assert that it is very efficacious in preventing contagion and prolonging life. It requires no sort of preparation, being simply gathered and dried in the sun; too much drying, however, is hurtful, inasmuch as it renders the leaf liable to crumble to dust in packing and stowing on board. The characteristic smell of Chinese or Indian ink is owing to an admixture of this plant in its manufacture. M. de Hugel found the plant growing wild near Canton. By distillation it yields a volatile oil, on which the odor and remarkable properties depend. This oil is in common use in India for imparting the peculiar fragrance of the leaf to clothes among the superior classes of natives. The origin of its use is this:--A few years ago, real Indian shawls bore an extravagant price, and purchasers could always distinguish them by their odor; in fact, they were perfumed with Patchouly; the French manufacturers at length discovered this secret, and used to import the plant to perfume articles of their make, and thus palm off homespun shawls as real India! Some people put the dry leaves in a muslin bag, and thus use it as we do lavender, scenting drawers in which linen is kept; this is the best way to use it, as this odor, like musk, is most agreeable when very dilute.--("Gardeners' Chronicle.")

The root of some parasitical plant, under the name of kritz, is used in Cashmere to wash the celebrated shawls, soap is used only for white shawls.

From the flowers of the Bengal quince (_Ægle marmemolos_) a fragant liquid is distilled in Ceylon known as marmala water, which is much used as a perfume for sprinkling by the natives.

Jasmine oil is distilled from _Jasminum sambac_ and _grandiflora_.